


Challenges

by congressmanmabel



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Autism, Back to School, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 12:36:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3978292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/congressmanmabel/pseuds/congressmanmabel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morty dreads returning to school after summer vacation and contemplates being neurologically different from the rest of his family and peers. But it takes an unlikely role model to put the boy's qualms to rest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Challenges

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since I watched the pilot of Rick and Morty, I always remembered one particular moment, in which Morty's parents tell Rick that their son is "mentally challenged" and has some type of disability that differentiates him from his family and peers in a negative sense (Being a person on the spectrum, I identify with Morty's plight, in that he's not generally book smart and that he is kinda socially awkward). 
> 
> So I thought up of an idea in which Morty is facing inner turmoil about being neurologically atypical and that Rick, in his own way, would try to comfort him and emphasize how being different isn't the end of the world. Hopefully, I'm doing justice to these two awesome characters. Please read and review.
> 
> (Warning: After re-reading this story, I realized that Rick is slightly OOC, but I really wanted to write a piece that reflected his bond with Morty.)
> 
> Enjoy!

"But in the midst of adversity, just realize that it'll only get better from here! And most importantly, always remember to be yourself!" The chipper and inhumanly happy teenage girl squeed from the laptop screen.

"Ugh," Morty grumbled. "That maybe easy for you to say, your-your-you're one of the _beautiful people_!!! But me... I-I-I-I don't even  _like_ myself!!!"

The adolescent boy closed his laptop in frustration and flopped backwards onto his mattress, feeling utterly hopeless. Another school year approaches, another nine months full of torture. Even though he and his grandfather Rick would go on epic inter-dimensional adventures during the school day, he figured that his parents would be much more attentive to the boy's school attendance and grades. Morty did not want to think about what life would be like without his eccentric grandfather and their sci-fi undertakings. 

His search for motivation for the upcoming school year was fruitless. He mostly came across trite and cliched motivational videos from basic youtubers. Morty found that his anxiety increased after his relentless research.

Of course no one he knew, or anyone in the world for that matter, would understand his plight as the "special" kid. 

He always knew that his parents were deeply disappointed with his "challenged" nature. The boy was diagnosed with autism at a young age, which truly upset Jerry and Beth, thinking they would never have a "normal" son. Despite their efforts at assisting Morty, which ranged from speech therapy to signing him up for various recreational activities such as sports and music lessons, Morty did not evolve into the sociable and talented person his parents wanted him to be. Even though Morty's motor and people skills did not develop until later on, he was already labeled as a lost cause. And the fact that his parents were also bickering and on the edge of breaking up did not help the young boy either. He always assumed that his disability was the root of their heated arguments and that he was nothing more than a burden to his parents.

Through the years, Morty had a lot of difficulties in school since he worked twice as hard as the other kids and still ended up with less than stellar grades. He especially detested the more complex courses like math as he did not fully comprehend the more abstract concepts in algebra and geometry. Even though math is his academic Achilles' heel, he expressed a lot more interest in other subjects such as English and Science, as he does make an honest effort to earn decent grades in those courses. 

He wasn't a social butterfly either, normally blending into the background as opposed to finding a clique of students to hang out with. It's not to say that he disliked people altogether, but he had a stuttering problem that he could never shake off. He could never bring himself to talk to other people, knowing that the moment he'd start stammering, he would be made fun of. It also did not help that from elementary up to middle school, Morty was pulled out of class to work specifically on speech and social skills at the Special Ed. classroom and some students teased him because of it. 

"It's hopeless..." Morty sighed. He grabbed his pillow from under his head, pulled it onto his face and let out a suppressed scream. 

"Hey _*UAUAUGHH*_ Morty -" Rick happily greeted the boy as he opened the bedroom door. His smile vanished after seeing his beloved grandson in distress. He wiped off the dribble from his chin as he pondered how he can alleviate the boy's problems. Once the elder man got an idea, he walked towards the boy's bed. 

"May I sit here?" The scientist asked. 

"Sure." Morty muffled through the pillow. The old man took Morty's incoherent response as a "yes" and moved the laptop before taking a seat on the mattress. 

"So, uh, Morty, what s _*buurrp*_ eems to be the problem?" Rick inquired, allowing a touch of concern in his tone of voice, as he lifted the pillow off of Morty's face and dropped it on his chest. "You're - you're usually so upbeat and so positive and whatnot? So what's the haps?"

"I-I'm not so sure Rick, you probably don't wanna hear about it anyway." The adolescent glumly responded, his eyes averting from his grandfather's gaze. 

"Come on, Morty. I like listening to people- well scratch that, I don't like hearing what Jerry has to say, bu- but I like listening to you!" Rick pleaded as he offered a hand to his grandson sit up. Morty accepted Rick's helping hand, using it as support as he pulled himself up. Rick continued to speak as he assisted Morty in getting up. "You can tell me anything Morty. Even if you w-were to offend me, right here, right now, I can take it Morty! I'm so thick-skinned you don't even kn _*buuurrp*_ ow! So what are you waiting for Mo _*eaugh*_ rty, come at me! Give me you're best shot bro!"

"Alright" Morty sighed. "Well, remember after our first adventure when my parents told you h-how I was, uh.....'challenged', a-and that I have some kind of 'disability'?" The teen used his fingers to gesticulate quotation marks to emphasize his point. 

Rick frowned at what he heard. The old man was still upset at the boy's parents for thinking less of him. The old scientist knew that despite Morty's shortcomings in academics, the boy's special in his own way. And even if he didn't express his emotions all that often, he sees Morty as a valuable companion.

"I can underst _*augh*_ nd your plight Morty, but you have to realize you shouldn't let other people's opinions about you bring you down. An-And you shouldn't listen to them because they don't know all the amazing things that you're capable of! And in all honesty, you truly are special to me, Morty!"

" **I-I CAN'T STAND THAT WORD** **!!!!!** " Morty shouted, tears quickly forming in his eyes. Rick realized his poor choice of words. 

"I don't wanna be special, Rick! A-a-and I don't wanna be myself either! I can't stand myself!" Morty sobbed as the tears streamed down his face. "I mean, you-you heard what my parents said about me when they were about to move you into a nursing home!! I j-j-just keep disappointing everyone because of how I am! I mean, I-I-I'm slow, a-and awkward, and...and I don't even know!" The boy took the pillow and smashed his face into it out of pure frustration.

Rick was truly hurt after hearing Morty's self-deprecating rant. This was tougher than how he'd imagine. Rubbing the back of his head, the old scientist thought long and hard of how he would comfort the boy. An idea popped into the man's brain. Perhaps using a more scientific approach would alleviate the teen's emotional state and help him to see just how important he is as a person. 

"Morty, Morty please look at me." Rick told his grandson, as the boy reluctantly removed the pillow from his face.

"You know that self-suffocation isn't gonna do anyone any good. You and I are both scientific people, so-so let's solve this issue together. Let's go to the garage." Rick coaxed his grandson to get out of bed and follow him out the room. 

"From what you just said, I assume that you are going through self-esteem issues." Rick observed. Morty simply nodded. 

"Well, I can tell you that there is no shame in being different. True stuff!" Rick reassured his grandson as he opened the garage door. After turning on the lights, the old scientist went straight to his cabinet that was filled with several gadgets.

"Even the most notable pioneers in science had their own personal struggles. Stephen Hawking became a renown theoretical physicist and cosmologist despite having ALS, Nikola Tesla dealt with dyslexia, Albert Einstein had Asperger's Syndrome, and Dr. Temple Grandin became a great agricultual scientists and she has autism."

"Wow Rick...I-I didn't even know..." Morty gaped. 

"I need you to sit down Morty. I'm gonna put this helmet that I've been working on lately on your head." Rick stated as he grabbed the helmet, which had a screen, antennas, and a printer. He immediately placed it on Morty's crown. The screen lit up and showcased a graph with waving lines.

"W-w-what does it do?" The teen asked.

"I'll tell you in a second. Right now I need you to just take some deep breaths, and the machine will do its job." Rick instructed. 

Morty took heed to his grandfather's word, closing his eyes while he breathed. After a few moments, the sound of a printer broke Morty's concentration.

"Rick!?!?!" He yelped.

"I-it's ok, Morty, it's just printing out the results." Rick reassured. "What this machine does is that it copies your brainwaves and reads into your thoughts, figuring out any moral problems that you might be having. After gaining enough information, it prints out a piece of paper that states advice to your problem. The purpose of this device is to give support to any person dealing with internal issues."

The printer coughed out a small piece of paper, gently falling to the ground. Rick caught the paper in mid-air and gave it to Morty. 

"Here Morty, read this." Rick said. 

Morty took the paper from his grandfather and read what the paper said.

_You are able to prove them wrong._

_Only you can define who you are._

_It will be a slow process, but you_

_are capable of accomplishing so much._

_Just find the positive aspects about yourself_

_and have confidence in those traits._

_It may be hard, but have faith in yourself and care for yourself._

_Love yourself._

Tears started to form in Morty's eyes. Never in his life was he so deeply moved by scientific ingenuity. Rick was able to use science to disprove Morty's feelings of worthlessness by reading though his mind and giving him the motivation he needs to get through. Sure the machine doesn't grant him superior-intellect like his parents want him to have, but his spirits are lifted, knowing that no one but him can define his worth and value. 

"A-all this time, I thought I was a burden..." Morty stated, as a single tear fell down his face.

"Don't say that Morty!" Rick snapped. "You never were. If anything, you were, are, and always will be a reliable, helpful and adventurous Morty!"

Morty started to feel better, but then an awful thought came into the boy's mind. Rick could easily find another Morty from another dimension to hang out with.

"B-but wouldn't you rather find, y'know, a smarter Morty to help you with your inventions?"

"No. I wouldn't." Rick answered. He knelt down and looked at his grandson at eye level.

"Please listen to what I have to say. You may not be the most academically intelligent Morty, but you certainly are the bravest Morty, the strongest Morty, and the most fun Morty that a Rick can ask for. And I would  _never_ even think to replace you because, well, you are the _best_ Morty."

Morty embraced his grandfather, sobbing into his blue shirt. Rick returned the hug, rubbing Morty's back as the teen let out his tears.

"Thank you Rick. I-I love you so much." Morty tearfully spoke. 

"I love you too, Morty. And whenever you're feeling down in the dumps, you know who to turn to." Rick replied, softly smiling at his grandson. He immediately stood up and offered Morty a helping hand.

"So why don't we do a more cheerful activity, like watching TV!" Rick suggested, as he helped Morty back on his feet.

"TV sounds fun." Morty agreed, following his grandfather out of the garage.

"But n*buuurp*t just any old television Morty, we're talking _inter-dimensional_ television."

"Yeah!" Morty cheered, raising his fist in the air out of joy. 

As the two approached the living room, Summer was on the couch reading a book on psychology. When she saw her brother and grandfather come in, she closed her book and moved down as they made their way toward the couch. 

"So Morty, I heard you sobbing from my room a little while ago. I wanted to go in and help, but I thought that you needed a moment alone. Also, Grandpa Rick beat me to it." Summer said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I-I'm all set. I was just worrying over school, but I feel better now." Morty responded. "But thanks for asking Summer. I-it means a lot to me knowing that you care."

"Sure thing bro. I'm always here to help." Summer responded with a small smile.

"So, you kids wanna binge watch some _Ball Fondlers_?" Rick offered as he took hold of the remote. 

"Yeah!" Morty and Summer exclaimed as Rick turned on the TV with the remote.

The three spent the entire evening watching the most action-packed show too awesome and hardcore for this dimension. 


End file.
